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What is National Military Appreciation Month?

A bit slow on this one (but better late than never). Officially designated by Congress in 1999, National Military Appreciation Month takes place every year throughout the entire month of May (in the US). Every year, the president issues an annual proclamation reminding Americans to celebrate this patriotic month that pays tribute to those who… Read More

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What was the Fashoda Incident (1898)?

Introduction The Fashoda Incident was the climax of imperial territorial disputes between Britain and France in East Africa, occurring in 1898. A French expedition to Fashoda on the White Nile river sought to gain control of the Upper Nile river basin and thereby exclude Britain from the Sudan. The French party and a British-Egyptian force… Read More

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What was the Dreyfus Affair (1894-1906)?

Introduction The Dreyfus affair (French: l’affaire Dreyfus, pronounced [lafɛːʁ dʁɛfys]) was a political scandal that divided the Third French Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. “L’Affaire”, as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francophone world, and it remains one of the most notable examples of a… Read More

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What was the Stairs Expedition to Katanga (1891-1892)?

Introduction The Stairs Expedition to Katanga (1891-1892), led by Captain William Stairs, was the winner in a race between two imperial powers to claim Katanga, a vast mineral-rich territory in Central Africa for colonisation. The mission became notable when a local chief, (Mwenda Msiri), was killed, and also for the fact that Stairs, the leader… Read More

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What is an Entrenching Tool?

Introduction An entrenching tool (UK), or intrenching tool in the US vernacular, E-tool, or trenching tool is a digging tool used by military forces for a variety of military purposes. Survivalists, campers, hikers and other outdoors groups have found it to be indispensable in field use. Modern entrenching tools are usually collapsible and made using… Read More

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What was the Demon Core?

Introduction The demon core was a spherical 6.2-kilogram (14 lb) subcritical mass of plutonium 89 millimetres (3.5 in) in diameter, manufactured during World War II by the United States nuclear weapon development effort, the Manhattan Project, as a fissile core for an early atomic bomb. It was involved in two criticality accidents, on 21 August… Read More